Avon Valley College

Avon Valley College is a mixed comprehensive school and sixth form in Durrington, Wiltshire. Over its history it has been known as Durrington Senior School, Durrington Secondary Modern School, Durrington Comprehensive School and Upper Avon School.

History

It was established in 1922 on a site in Bulford Road, and in 1944 it became a Secondary Modern School in line with government policy. As the school grew in the 1950s a new site was built at the end of Recreation Road, at the north-eastern corner of the village, at a cost of £118,732. This new site opened on 7 September 1959, and the old site became Durrington Junior School. In the 1970s extensive new additions were made to the school buildings and in 1974 it officially became a comprehensive school. Throughout its early history the school enjoyed limited academic success and went through a period of decline in the 1990s, culminating in it being placed in special measures in the year 2000. There was good news, however, when it had these measures lifted earlier than expected in 2002 and the school has shown considerable sustained improvement in subsequent Ofsted reports. In the most recent Ofsted report (January 2011) the College was deemed to be good – “Avon Valley College is good and improving. The college has an inclusive ethos and is a welcoming and positive learning community. It provides a good level of care, advice and guidance for groups of students and for individuals by working closely with a range of outside agencies and adopting a flexible and responsive structure to provide for the wide range of students' needs. As a result, students feel safe, enjoy their learning and achieve well. The college's sport and applied learning specialist status has been utilised effectively to drive forward the work in raising aspirations and securing achievement. Curriculum provision has been expanded and refined and, as a result, the needs of all students are being met more effectively. Consequently, there is a rising trend in attainment and overall, students make good progress, regardless of their background”

In a PE Ofsted Inspection in February 2010, PE was categorised as “Outstanding” The College changed its status to a Foundation College in January 2009 and in September 2010 the status changed to a Trust College. In September 2010 Mark Avoth was appointed Principal and standards have continued to rise rapidly.

New facilities have been added at Avon Valley College in recent years including a tented sports hall, a dance studio, a café and a fully equipped gym which is open to the public outside College hours.

There are thriving adult education classes which take place during the day and in the evening.

Results

Results have continued to improve. In 2010 the school scored its highest overall GCSE results yet, with 43% achieving five or more GCSEs including Maths and English at grades A*-C or equivalent, This was exceeded in 2011 when 53% per cent of students achieved grades A*-C in five GCSEs or equivalent qualifications, including Maths and English making Avon Valley the most successful school on Salisbury Plain. Avon Valley College is a specialist school for Applied Learning. Therefore, it is an inclusive College and promotes vocational, applied and traditional subjects. Results have demonstrated this commitment with 82% of students achieving 5A* to C including equivalences. One of the highest in the whole of Wiltshire.

House system

Current

The house system has been abolished.

Historical

There were formerly three houses, each named after its respective head.

References

http://php.wiltshire.gov.uk/dirschool/getschool.php?id=190